Dump trucks (with or without an additional trailer) and separate trailers (with cabs) have historically used wood boards positioned along the tops of the sides of the metal dump truck boxes or the sides and ends of trailers to absorb contact with loading buckets or other apparatus which in operation swing or load over the top sides to dump their contents into the dump truck/trailer and then are moved out again to retrieve another load of material. The side boards prevent damage to the structure of the dump truck/trailer itself during loading operations as well as increasing the load capacity of the vehicle.
Contact often occurs between the loading apparatus and the sideboards because the top edge of the sideboard is misjudged by the operator. Conventional sideboards, due to the physical contact by the various loading equipment, typically have a short life span. Although they are expensive to replace, they are less expensive than regularly repairing the sides of dump trucks/trailers. Further, conventional sideboards typically have a flat top surface which accumulates dust and other loading debris, which must be cleaned off prior to entering public roads, which is an inconvenience to the operators of such vehicles, as well as producing a loss of time and hence, revenue.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a sideboard structure which accomplishes the function of conventional dump truck/trailer sideboards, while being significantly more durable and more attractive, as well as less expensive over time to use.